The Crash of a Lifetime
by Vicious Critter
Summary: AU Roxy works in her science lab while Nepeta and her friends have problems on their meteor. Everything goes wrong as the trolls cannot manage to stop the crash. The Earth and the trolls collide, and Roxy is on the scene. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

The sun rose over the horizon as the clouds began to clear. The traffic of the city and the noise of the inhabitants created an overwhelming ruckus. The tall grey buildings stretch high into the dark blue sky. The stars are slowly disappearing to the west, the eastern sunrise raising higher and higher to brighten up the city. The pink colors radiate from the blinding sun to expand over the heads of the people. It is now 6 o'clock am, morning rush hour begins.

Roxy hits the snooze button on her alarm clock for the second time. "Juss fif, five more minutz…" She rolls over in her bed and covers her head with the bed sheets. She lays still and just as she is about to drift off a familiar touch comes across her face. "Jaspers! I wanna sleeeeep!" Jaspers puts his tail on Roxy's tired face. Roxy sighs and pushes him away. "Meow?" "Pulease lemme sleep." She put her arms back under her blanket and closed her eyes again. Roxy could hear Jaspers giving a quick hiss, then she felt his feet padding across the bed back to her, then he leaned forward and bit Roxy's nose.

Nepeta and her troll friends were on a meteor. They were travelling through space at an alarming rate. Sollux had told everyone that he suspected the trolls were also flying through different universes. The meteor was growing in velocity. Karkat was running around trying to tell everyone what to do and how, but everyone was only in a panic. Nepeta was sitting in a corner, her arms wrapped around her legs. Equius was next to her. "It, it'll be ok Nepeta." Nepeta knew Equius had no idea what was going to happen, but she also kept up her hope.

After Roxy had yelled at Jaspers and gave him an evil eye, she didn't feel like going back to sleep. She sighed at sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had had a few too many glasses of wine last night. "OH SHIT I'M GONNA BE LATE!" She threw the covers off and felt the cool air against her body. "Damn that's cold!" She threw her legs over the bed and stood up, a bit wobbly. She had to go to work in 5 minutes. "God dammnit." She quickly got dressed in her lab uniform and took a cup of coffee on her way out. She shouted a quick farewell to her feline friend as she dashed through the door to her car.

Nepeta and Equius sat in their corner for a long time. With Sollux's grave predictions, Karkats's bantering, and everyone's chaotic attitude made Nepeta not feeling well. She along with all her friends were awaiting their doom. Soon Aradia simply pointed out the nearest window. Everyone rushed to see what it was, Nepeta being the first in line with her quick reflexes. "A planet." It was true; a relatively small blue and green planet was growing ever larger in front of them. "EVERYONE BRACE FOR A CRASH LANDING!" Karkat continued yelling over everyone, his voice being the loudest. Nepeta and Equius sat back in their corner, leaning on each other. "5…4…3…2…" and with that the entire meteor came to an abrupt halt and everyone was sent flying.

Roxy had an unreasonably short trip to work, her foot pressing a bit harder on the pedal in frustration. She turned out to be only 10 minutes late, her fellow lab workers just setting up for the meeting. Roxy fastened the last button on her lab coat and walked through the door to where the meeting was about to start. "Sleeping in again Ms. Lalonde?" Roxy stared at the slightly irksome employee as she took her seat at the head of the long table. "I'm just fashionably late, English." Everyone at the meeting gave a small smirk. "Now let's begin our meeting with a new topic I've been looking into recently, extra-terrestrials coming into contact with Earth."

Nepeta's eyes opened after she gave a heaving sigh. Her entire body was in pain, most specifically near the end of her fluffy tail. She cast away her pain as she stared at the wreckage, trying to find her friends. Nepeta pushed her hands down and attempted to stand up. Half-way through, her sides collapsed and she fell back down onto the broken pieces of asteroid and grass. "Equ… Equius!" Nepeta pricked her ears up and managed to sit up despite her aching back. "EQUIUS!" "…pe, peta? Nepeta?" Nepeta relaxed her tensed up body. "Are you ok meowrail?" "I am perfectly fine, how about you? Are you hurt Nepeta?" "I, I am. A bit, actually." Nepeta could barely keep in the sitting position when she heard the rumbling of rocks from her right. Suddenly she felt two strong hands being placed on her shoulders. "What hurts? I can see you're bleeding a lot, let's get you to some softer grass." Nepeta was carefully scooped up in Equius's arms and moved several feet to a warm patch of grass. Equius laid her down, placing her head carefully on the soil and moving her tail to the side. "But, Equius… where are the others?"

Roxy and her fellow employees had a long discussion on the matter of alien life. Where were they? What were they like? The meeting went until lunch, when everyone promptly stood up and left. All except Roxy, who was still going over the documents in her hands. She scanned an article that was focused on how to "meet and greet" the extra-terrestrials. "Always be in control, never let them think they are above you. They will sense weakness and you need to be dominant. What a laugh, are they aliens or dogs?" Roxy gave the dreadful article a scowl and tossed it aside. "Hey Ms. Lalonde, want to eat lunch at some point? We have to get back to work in 10 minutes!" Roxy looked up, a hint of laughter in her voice. "Maybe you do, English but I control this end of the lab and I take breaks whenever I damn well please." The peeved employee left the room in a rush. Roxy took another piece of paper in her hands and only read a word before deciding that she did in fact need to eat something.

Equius had done the best he could to Nepeta's wounds. She had been damaged badly. "Please, Equius, what about-" "Shhhh… we need to just make sure you're ok first." Nepeta frowned and let out olive tears of pain, both in mental and physical form. "I'm sorry Nep, but I'll need some material to make a sling and bandage some wounds. Can I possibly tear a bit from your jacket?" "Yes, I don't think I need a cold blood stained jacket bottom anyway." Equius teared away at the olive fabric of her jacket, and within only minutes Nepeta's wounds were crudely bandaged. "Now purlease, let's find our friends!" "I will go in search of our fellow comrades, you must stay put and try not to move, your wounds are bad. I'll be back soon Nepeta." Nepeta looked up into Equius's broken glasses, and with a quick nod she lay her head down on the grass. "Good. Yell if you need help." And with that Equius stomped away, sweating buckets.


	2. Chapter 2

Roxy, wanting to be alone, grabbed a small sandwich from the deli and went into her office. As she bit into the sandwich her eyes closed half-way. She finished chewing, and by the time she swallowed her head was on her desk. "Yeah, waaaay too much wine last night. Not to mention all that damn arguing with the employees." She opened her eyes and cast a quick glance at the door. No one was around. She reached into her purse and took out a pint sized liquor bottle. "Jus a sip." And she tilted her bottle slightly, letting the burning alcohol drip down her throat. "Maybe a bit more, I am sooo tired." She pushed the bottle higher and she gulped down a mouthful. She set the bottle down and gave a heaving sigh. "Muuuuuuuch better." She tucked away the bottle back in her purse and grinned. "Les see wus on the 'ol agenda for the afternoon huh?" She picked up her schedule on her binder. She was half-way through reading the first word when she heard foot-step from the hallway. She heard an urgent knocking on the door. "Come in why don't ya?" The door opened rapidly. The boss was standing in front of her. "Lalonde I hope you haven't been drinking. This shit is serious."

Nepeta continued to feel the blood pulsing through her veins and out of her body. The pain had been muffled by Equius's handy-work, but she needed some serious medical attention. She could hear her morail rummaging through the wreckage and crying out various names. Most often he was calling for Aradia. Nepeta closed her eyes, trying to get the pain to stop. Suddenly a voice was heard. "Nepeta, is that you?" Nepeta's eyes sprang open. "Yes! Who is it?" "It's, it's Tavros." Nepeta turned her head slightly to see the edge of a large horn. "Equius! Tavros is over here!" Nepeta listened carefully to see if her morail got the message. "What is it Nepeta, who's alive?" "Tavros!" Equius came walking back to Nepeta. She could feel his shadow fall on her. "Where is the low-blood?" "Our good friend Tavros is over there!" Nepeta pointed to the troll. She could hear Equius stomping on the soil over to him. "Are you hurt?" "No, not really. But Vriska, she's-" Tavros cut off and pointed over to a large pile of rock rubble. "Help me find her." Tavros made a small whimpering noise. "I'll move the larger rocks but you can do the dirty work, I have the others to find." Nepeta could hear Equius heaving the enormous rocks aside. "Vriska?" Nepeta heard Tavros's shaky voice softly. She heard Equius climbing over rubble to find the others as Tavros began to claw off the rest of the rocks. Nepeta suddenly heard a familiar pissed off voice. "God dammit Tavros, I'm over here."

Roxy leaned forward in her seat. "What is it boss?" "Our satellites have detected an asteroid has just hit Earth." Roxy's eyes widened as she tried to keep a straight face. "Are we about to go extinct, Dirk?" "God dammit Lalonde, next time I know you've been drinking I'm going to fire you. And we are not going to die, the asteroid was pretty small, and nearby cities haven't seen any parts of the crash." Roxy sighed. "Whadda want me to do?" "I want you to stop drinking. I'm sending Crocker to the site; in the meantime you need to alert the other labs in the area in case they don't know. Here are their numbers." Mr. Strider handed Roxy a small stack of papers. He turned around and opened the door. Right before he let the door close behind him he turned his head back. "And don't make our lab look foolish." He shut the door and Roxy heard him walk down the hallway. Rosy sighed and picked up the telephone. "Everyone here needs to lighten up." She dialed the first number.

Nepeta, blood had stopped flowing out of her body at an alarming rate, and her wounds were beginning to feel less painful. She dared to sit up, and put her hands firmly on the ground. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. She scooted herself to a nearby tree and leaned her back against it. The bark was still warm from the crash. Nepeta relaxed and realized she could stay sitting like this. "No Tavros, I can get down myself." Vriska had been blown into a tree, her jacket was stuck in many places. The rubble pile had no one in it. Nepeta could see Tavros trying to help Vriska out, but Vriska was shoving his hand away. She dropped down and landed on one knee. She stood up slowly, wiping the leaves off her jacket and out of her hair. "Are you hurt?" Blue blood was in speckles on her body. "I'm fine. Who have we found so far?" Tavros reached out to her, Vriska didn't retreat. "Are you sure you aren't hurt, you're covered in bl-" "I'M FINE. No where the hell is everyone else?" "Well, Nepeta is over there, and Equius is searching around. That's all I know." "Why the hell are you not searching too? Your legs are fine. Try them out and let me see Tavros." Vriska pushed Tavros with a grin. He barely caught himself before falling with his robotic legs. "Even after all these sweeps you still aren't used to them are you?" Tavros continued walking, and Vriska followed him. "Is that Vriska?" Nepeta could barely hear Equius. "Yes!" "Bring her over here, looks like most of the others are under here."

Roxy hung up the phone. "Jeez that was stupid. Why can't everyone take an asteroid crash landing on Earth well?" Roxy looked over the sheets. "That's everyone I guess. Time to report to Dirk." She dialed the phone again. It rang twice and he picked up. "What is it, do they understand?" "Yep! All taken care of Dirk." "I told you to call me Mr. Strider, I'm your god damn boss." "Ok ok fiiine Mr. Strider. The labs know." "Good, now go home. I don't want you here when you're like this." And with that Roxy heard the click and she hung up the phone. "But I work best when I've had a drink!" Roxy frowned and picked up her bag. "Guess I'll try, for Dirk's sake." She walked out of her office and bumped into Jane. "Off to see the rock Janey?" "Yep! Wish you could join me but Dirk said you were drunk." "Hahahahha nah I'm not drunk, I'm just buzzed, ready for action. He doesn't understand." Jane smiled. "Heh yeah I guess. Well I'll see you tomorrow, and try not to drink so you can tag along too!" Roxy winked. "You bet!" Jane continued down the hall, Roxy walking the other way. "Wonder when Janey's leaving? Looked like she wasn't getting ready to leave just yet." Roxy looked up. "Maybe I could go see the crash and leave before anyone gets there?" Roxy darted her eyes around the lab. "Now where did Dirk say it crashed?"

Nepeta couldn't see the three trolls heaving the large piece of metal from over a ditch. "I can hear Terezi!" "We all can hear her loud mouth Tavros, just keep pulling." Nepeta heard a large thunking and scraping of metal. "Took you guys long enough! It's hard being in here with three other sweaty trolls!" "Sorry Terezi, but now you can help us find everyone else!" "I'm just about ready to collapse." "Me too." "Equius! Thank you!" Nepeta smiled as she heard Terezi, Kanaya, Sollux, and Aradia's voice. "Who's hurt?" "I am. That huge thing hit me in the head. And I think Sollux got beat up too." "I jussths got a shthcraping." "Everyone that can't help go to Nepeta, she's over by that large tree. Nepeta could hear a single set of footsteps coming closer. "I'm so sorry everyone, but I fear I would only hinder you." Nepeta stared Kanaya as she walked over the rubble to her. "Over here Kanaya!" Kanaya turned her head slightly and continued walking until she collapsed next to Nepeta. "I heard you got hit in the head, is that it?" "Yes, would you mind telling me if I'm bleeding?" "Not at all!" Nepeta pulled Kanaya closer to her, and let her lay down next to her. She looked closely at Kanaya. "I don't think you're bleeding, all I see is Sollux's blood. Is he ok?" "A large piece of metal flew by and cut him in the arm, I don't think he should be helping but I think he can make his own decisions." Nepeta continued to watch over Kanaya as she listened to hear another familiar voice.

Roxy started her car up. "It's not far from here, I'll be there and gone in a second!" She backed up and pulled out of the parking lot. "See, I'm a perfect driver." She continued down the route, looking for smoke. The highway was barren of cars, and Roxy sped through it. "I'll be there faster than you can say-" She saw a tower of smoke in the distance. "Shit that's a lot of smoke. How big was it?" She pulled off the highway and onto a side street. Looking through the window, she couldn't see anything. "These trees are too close together!" She stopped when she found a chunk of metal on the side of the road. Roxy opened the door and bent down to investigate the bit of metal. "This almost looks like a-" She took a step forward and crushed something. She looked down and realized she crushed a computer mouse. "It's a computer. Either some dude was in the middle of some weird woods on his computer or this asteroid has aliens." She looked up. "HELLO!" She listened intently for an answer. Roxy crept forward. "Hello?" She listened again. Nothing. Suddenly the ground grew hot. "Damn its hot here. Maybe'll just let Jane find the aliens." Roxy peered through the trees. "Wait, someone is over there!" Roxy sprinted forward. "Hello?" A strange voice answered "Wwho the fuck are you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Nepeta smiled and relaxed with every new voice she heard. Terezi had found Feferi in a pile of rubble, desperately trying to get out. She was scratched but didn't have to join Nepeta and Kanaya. Soon everyone gathered back around the large tree. "All we have left to find is Karkat, Gamzee, and Eridan." Nepeta frowned. "We still haven't found Karkitty?" "Nope, seems like that loudmouth has gotten himself lost." Nepeta's heart sank. Kanaya looked up at her. "We'll find him Nepeta, don't worry." Nepeta mustered up a blank stare, it was better than tears. "Wait, I hear someone!" Nepeta pricked her ears up and listened carefully. "What's up motherfuckers?" "Oh. It's only Gamzee. Where the fuck were you?" "Around. Is everyone fucking here?" "No, Eridan and Karkat are still gone." Nepeta swore she could see a trickle of fear in Gamzee's eyes. "Let's find them." "That's what we're trying to do."

Roxy gasped as she heard the voice. "Hello? Who are you?" "Wwhy the hell should I tell you? Wwho the fuck are you?" Roxy frowned. Well isn't this alien a jerk. "Fine, I'm Roxy Lalonde. Now who are you?" There was a long pause. "I am Eridan Ampura, noww get the fuck awway." Roxy took a step forward. "Sorry but you can't just crash onto Earth and expect me to just walk away. What kind of aliens are you?" Roxy took another step. She saw movement in the trees. She felt a shiver go down her spine. "Eridan, where did you come from?" She took a step backwards. Her heart skipped a beat as someone dropped down from a tree, harpoon gun in hand. "Get the hell awway." Roxy took another step back. Eridan had grey skin and horns, definitely alien. "Please let me talk to you, I won't hurt you!" "I SAID LEAVVE." Roxy, suddenly fearing for her life, turned around and ran out of the trees. Eridan was not fucking around; she could see the anger and hatred in his orange eyes. She kept running until she reached her car. With lightning speed she opened up the car door and started the engine. Jane was coming soon anyway. Roxy stared forward. JANE! She couldn't let Jane go up against Eridan alone.

They had searched for a long time, but Karkat was nowhere to be found. No one was trying to find Eridan. Nepeta was holding Kanaya's head, trying to soothe the pain. Eventually Sollux joined them; his blood-loss was too extreme. Nepeta ripped off more of her loose clothing and tied him up as best as she could. So they all three sat next to eat other by the tree as the day continued. Nepeta could feel the warm rays of the sun shine down on her legs, yet she didn't feel any burn. Once or twice she had glimpsed the sun, but she could still see the world around her. Nepeta kept her eyes open wide, awaiting the arrival of Karkat. Most everyone was out of sight now, the search stretching farther. The leaves on the trees shook with the strong gusts of wind. Nepeta reached up to pull her hat on tighter, only to realize it was missing. Nepeta gave a small frown, that was her favorite hat. She had had for almost 11 sweeps now. She was momentarily distracted when she saw movement between two trees in the distance. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes glued to the movement. It was someone walking toward them. "Karkitty?" As the shadowed figure stepped out of trees Nepeta's face fell. Eridan was strutting with his gun toward the tree. "Equius! Terezi! Everyone!" Nepeta called out loudly enough to alert the nearest trolls. Soon she heard footsteps running to her. She was unsure of Eridan's intentions at this point. He continued to walk straight toward them. Equius reached her first. "What is it Nepeta? Are you in trouble?" "Maybe, I just found Eridan." She pointed straight forward. Equius followed her finger, and spotted Eridan, now much closer. "Don't worry; I'm here to protect you." Equius stood up straight and stepped in front of Nepeta. "Eridan, put your gun down."

Roxy was still sitting in her car. Maybe if Jane came alone she could tell her what happened without losing her job. Roxy moved her car further down the road, and stopped. She turned around and stared out of the back window. "I'll make sure Janey stays safe." Keeping watch out of the back of her car, Roxy sat waiting. She glanced at her car clock. 2 O'clock. "Any time now Jane." At least that alien Eridan seemed to have left; there wasn't any more movement from the trees. Lots of metal and rock were scattered about, along with a few things Roxy didn't recognize. A spot of blue hanging from a tree caught her eye. Roxy took one last gaze out of the back window and decided check it out. Opening the car door, she still had her eyes on the road. She slammed the door shut and crept carefully back into the forest over to the blue object. It was only feet from her, now she could make out that it was fabric. Roxy extended her arm and took it in her hand. "I think it's a hat." She turned it around. It looked like a blue cat was staring back at her. She smiled, it was a cute hat. "Too bad it has two holes in it, probably because of the tree." She lifted the hat up and placed it on her head. It fit perfectly, and it was warm. "It was probably one of the alien's." A sudden sound erupted through the forest, the sound of someone screaming. Roxy tore through the trees toward the noise. As the trees began to thin, she could see a lot more of the wreckage. "It must have hit somewhere close-by." Her eyes searched the landscape for anyone, specifically the person who screamed. As she continued forward a large clearing opened before her. She could see some moving figures in the distance. But were they aliens or other people?

Eridan hadn't put his gun down. He continued straight toward the tree. "Eridan you have no reason to hurt these trolls, they're weak. Put your weapon down." "Wwhat are a feww loww blood trolls to you, felloww high-blood?" Nepeta stiffened. "We need to stick together now; we don't know where we are!" "I do." Eridan pointed his weapon at Sollux. By then Terezi had made her way to the tree. "What is-" She saw the gun. "Eridan what the hell are you doing?" She took a few steps closer to him; her hand had a firm grip on her cane. "I havve answwers. Wwe need to movve fast, because they are all coming for us. Wwe can't keep injured trolls wwith us. Let me kill them." "Eridan are you insane? You don't know anything, you're full of shit." "I just met wwith one, over there in the wwoods. I knoww things and I can help some of you, just not these three. Speaking of wwhich wwhere is Vvantas?" Terezi couldn't take it anymore, she slammed Eridan to the ground with her cane. Eridan simultaneously shot his gun. It hit Equius with a large spurt of blue blood. Nepeta screamed as he fell down, moving herself closer to him. Terezi and Eridan were on the ground, Eridan's gun had been flung across the ground, and Terezi was viciously beating his grey face full of hate.

Roxy hadn't dared to move any closer. She could just make out a gun not too far from her, and it looked like Eridan's. Two figures were fighting and a few more were under a large tree. One of the figures in the fight pushed the other off. "FUCK YOU TEREZI!" It was Eridan's voice. Who was Terezi? Roxy dared another 5 feet closer. She could make out that they were all aliens. They had horns and grey skin, just like Eridan. The gun was in arm's reach. The one she thought was Eridan stood up tall. "Noww is our chance to finally kill off these loww-bloods!" "Not in your life Eridan. Get your shit together before I bash your head in." Roxy bent over and picked the gun up. It was a harpoon gun. She listened for the right moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Nepeta was at Equius's side. He had been hit right through the chest. His glasses lay cracked and broken, black pieces of lenses lay on the grass. "Equius, no..." "I, I'll be fine Nepeta. I just-" He tried to sit up, but he fell back. "Equius, please, what can I do?" Nepeta put her hand on his wound. So much blood was coming out, and his face was growing paler. "Nepeta, promise me to stay brave." "I'm not brave; you've always been brave for me." He took her hand. "Nepeta I know you don't think that you are, but trust me. Stay the way you are. Goodbye Nepeta." Olive tears streamed down Nepeta's sorrowful face. "Goodbye Equius." Equius loosened his grip on her hand. Her tears landed on his shirt as his hand fell to his side. The whole time Terezi and Eridan had been fighting, Kanaya and Sollux were staring at something in the distance.

Roxy could feel two sets of eyes on her. It didn't matter; Eridan was becoming ever more agitated by the second. "I am higher than you Pyrope. Step down." The alien Roxy presumed as Terezi held out a cane. "Shut up." Eridan's feet pushed into the ground and he began to run at the other troll. Roxy took aim and shot. Eridan's body fell on the outstretched cane. The alien turned its head in Roxy's direction. "Who is over there? Karkat?" The alien let Eridan's body fall and she started toward Roxy. Roxy wasn't sure about this. That alien was handy with that cane. "Karkat?" Roxy didn't understand, she was only feet from the alien but Roxy was sure that she didn't look like one of those aliens. "Wait, you don't smell like Karkat." She gripped her cane tighter. "I'm not Karkat. My name is Roxy Lalonde. Who are you?" "My name is Terezi Pyrope. We are trolls from Alternia. Where are we now?" "You crash landed on Earth." Roxy heard a horrible noise from behind her. A single set of footsteps behind her. "Hey I think I see someone!" Jane's voice.

Nepeta, knowing her morail was dead; decided to see what Terezi was doing so far from the group. She turned her head and saw someone she didn't recognize, but she had something on her head... "My hat!" Nepeta took a closer look, and sure enough her beautiful blue hat was on this strange girl. How did that happen? Nepeta struggled to her feet. "Earth huh? What universe?" Nepeta dragged her feet away from her tree. "I, I don't know. Hey um... some people are coming to see the wreckage. I think you should leave until I straighten things out." Nepeta could see Roxy clearer now. She had a lab coat on, with pink trimmings. "Hey, Roxy. Where did you find that hat?" Roxy looked at her. "Oh, I found it on a tree over there. Is it yours?" "Yes. Could I have it back?" "Of course! But after that I need you trolls to go hiding, you don't know what humans would do to aliens if they found them. I'll let people know as soon as I know more about you guys. Who are you?" "Nepeta." Nepeta watched Roxy take a step in her direction, then freeze. Nepeta heard a faint voice from the trees. "Roxy!" "Who's that?" Terezi took a deep sniff. "You guys need to leave; I'll distract my friend long enough for you guys to spilt. Go!" Roxy turned around and sped through the trees. Nepeta and Terezi stared at each other. "I, I think we should trust Roxy."

Roxy took off the hat and threw the harpoon gun on the ground. She held onto the blue hat as she continued through the trees. "Jane, why did you choose this moment to come..." She could now see Jane walking all alone through the trees. "JANE!" "Who's there? Is it, is it Roxy?" "Yes! Jane I'm so sorry I came here, but I just had to see what it was like. Please don't tell anyone!" "Roxy, slow down! It's ok I won't report you. What did you find?" Roxy glanced behind her. "I think there were aliens, I see a lot of technology scattered around." "I noticed that too. Where did they come from?" Roxy looked away. "I, I don't know. They look dangerous though, I found a few weapons. Did you bring any kind of weapon?" "I still have my spoon from lunch in my pocket! Haha but seriously I don't have anything." Roxy looked around. "Is anyone else here?" "Well I'm the only one coming here from our lab." "Good. Hey listen... I think you should follow me."

Nepeta and Terezi hurried back to the others. "HEY EVERYONE BACK AT THE TREE THIS IS IMPORTANT!" Nepeta collapsed back at the tree, her wounds starting to open again. Her will was weakened, her morail dead at the hands of Eridan. At least Roxy had avenged him. But who was Roxy Lalonde? Nepeta looked back to the forest. No sign of her very existence. Nepeta heard everyone's rushed footsteps coming toward the tree. "Did you fucking find him? Where is that motherfucker?" "We don't know Gamzee, but we found and killed Eridan, it's a long story and we'll explain later. Right now we have to leave, some dangerous people are coming after us and we need to get out of here." Everyone looked around, nervously. "What about Karkitty?" "I'm sorry Nepeta, maybe that dumbass will hook-up with us later. For now we need to leave before horrible things happen." "Is that, Equius?!" Aradia's knees hit the ground. "No, Equius..." She touched his face gingerly. "Stone cold. We can't just leave him here!" Terezi took a deep sniff. "Roxy is nearby, with someone else too. We need to leave Aradia." Aradia took his body and threw it over her shoulder. Terezi frowned but showed no other sign that she noticed. "Sollux, Kanaya, Nepeta. Can you guys walk?" "I can, I just need to hold my head." "My wound ish better. I can make it." "I'll, I'll try." Nepeta stood up slowly, and then her legs gave away beneath her. "Nepeta let me help you. Everyone else let's head out, any direction away from here is fine by me."


	5. Chapter 5

"Where are we going, Roxy?" "There's a weapon around here, if only I could find the damn thing..." "An ALIEN weapon? Roxy that's dangerous!" "It is very dangerous, but if you can shoot it you'll be fine. AH HA!" Roxy saw it in the distance. She walked quickly toward it. "It's a harpoon gun." She picked up the lethal, Jane stared off dumbfounded. "Roxy, I don't understand. It is dangerous around here or something?" "No, I just want to make sure you'll be ok." "You're hiding something, aren't you Roxy." Jane took the gun. "No, just looking out for my best friend!" Jane gave her a smile. "If you say so." Roxy turned around and gave a small frown. Jane never believed her, even when she was telling the truth.

Nepeta had Terezi's cane in one hand, and the other was around Terezi's shoulder. With every other step Nepeta whimpered. "Hang in there AC, once we find a cave or something we can all just calm to hell down and figure things out." Nepeta sighed, gritted her teeth, and continued her lopsided stride. "How are we going to let Karkat know where we are?" "Let's not worry about Karkat right now, we need to move. Anyone see anything yet?" Aradia stopped, and stared to her left. "I see some kind of outcropping over there." Nepeta turned her head slightly and saw it. "Let's move!" The trolls went as quickly as they could to the rocks. Soon the rocks were underfoot and Nepeta could make out a long and narrow passage. "I think it's a cave Terezi." "Me too." Feferi was the first to reach its mouth. "Hello! Is anyone in there?!" Her voice echoed down the cold passageway, but no sound returned. "Ok, Feferi take Nepeta, I'll go in first." Vriska stepped proudly infront of Terezi. "No way Terezi, I am a much better fighter than you." "Who killed Eridan, Vriska?" There was a period of silence. Vriska mumbled to herself and Terezi pushed her way into the cave. The others followed closely. "It's getting wider up here!" As Terezi spoke Nepeta could feel the sides growing away from her. "I think this is just a big open area. I can't feel or smell anything else." Nepeta was used to being in caves; after all she used to live in one. Her cat-like eyesight quickly adjusted to the seemingly perpetual darkness. "I only see this old area, no more passages." Tavros sighed with relief. "Let's get some kind of light in here and stay here. Seems fair enough for now." Everyone gathered in the center of the room. Tavros was the first to speak. "Why not build a fire?" "There isn't a way for the smoke to escape; we would all choke to death on the smoke. There is, however, another source of light." Kanaya suddenly began to shine, her skin glowed brilliantly and the light made its way across the room. "Smaller than I thought, but we'll manage."

"Are you sure this isn't some kind of trap Roxy?" "Absolutely. Let's just have a look and then we can leave." "Why do you want to leave so badly?" Roxy racked her brain for an appropriate response. "I, I already looked it over; there really wasn't much to be found." Jane laughed. "Really? No aliens?" Roxy bit her tongue with anger at herself. "I didn't find any. Maybe they'll show up eventually." They continued to search the forest for anything interesting. Occasionally they found a bit of a broken computer, or some strange alien device. Otherwise it was just a bunch or ripped up Earth and rock. "Oh shit! It's almost 6! I have to get home!" "I should be reporting back to Dirk too. So our story is that I told you about the wreckage, that way you can talk to people about it." "Thanks Janey!" "No problem Roxy." They made their way back to their cars. "Tomorrow the other labs will have access to the site, and the police will be restricting people from the wreckage. There were already tons of onlookers too scared to go closer when I came." "Huh, ok." They stared out onto the highway; it was becoming overloaded with traffic. "Well I'll see you tomorrow Jane!" "You too Roxy!" Roxy opened her car door and got in. She turned on the engine and now, completely sober from her alien scare, drove off toward her house.

Nepeta, her wounds open again, collapsed on the hard floor. After Aradia carefully set Equius's body down, she picked up Nepeta and moved her to the side of the cave. The trolls each found a spot on the floor and, with Kanaya in the center, decided to discuss their plans. Nepeta slipped in and out of consciousness, catching a few words here and there. Eventually she decided to sit up. However, before she even began to move her arms more blood began to pour. She cried out in pain. "Nepeta!" Terezi made her way across the floor to Nepeta's side. "Terezi, it hurts." "I know, where is all this blood coming from?" Terezi sniffed Nepeta. "My tail, my legs, and only a little from my sides." "Here..." Terezi un-wound her bandages and soaked up the blood with them the best she could. "Nepeta, I need to use some new material..." "I understand, use my sleeves." Terezi ripped off Nepeta's jacket sleeves and wrapped them around her freshly cleaned wounds. Nepeta lowered her voice to a whisper. "Why did you say you killed Eridan? Roxy was the one who killed him." Terezi took a quick glance at Vriska. "I just needed to make her shut up. I'm sorry about that." Nepeta could hear the trolls continue their discussion despite Terezi's absence. "Now go to sleep, I'll make sure you stay alive." "Thank you Terezi." Nepeta closed her eyes and let her body rest. The sounds of bickering and arguing slowly faded away and Nepeta drifted off to sleep on the cold cave floor.

Roxy pulled into her driveway and took her bags inside. "MEOOOOOOOW" "I know Jaspers, sorry I'm late. It was important though." Roxy set her things on the floor and moved to feed the hungry cat a snack. "I met some aliens today. I think they called themselves 'trolls'." She opened up Jaspers food. "There were a few of them actually. I met Eridan, he was a bastard. Then there was Terezi, she seemed like their leader. I also met..." Roxy finished pouring Jasper's food and looked over to the small pile of stuff she left at the door. There it was, Nepeta' hat. "I never gave it to her! Poor Nepeta!" Roxy pat Jaspers and stared out of her window. "I wonder if they left? I hope they're ok." She walked over to the hat and took it in her hands. "They must need food. I'll go back tonight, before this gets to be too public." Jaspers looked up from his food. "Mew?" "I'm sorry Jaspers, I need to go help some aliens." She opened up a large grocery bag and began stuffing some of her food in it. "Wonder what aliens eat..." Roxy decided to bring a variety of foods. She stuffed all kinds of things in there, and finished with a raw chicken leg wrapped in plastic wrap and closed the bag. "Be good Jaspers, I'll be back soon." Roxy smiled at the slightly annoyed cat and, picking up the hat and food bag, dashed out the door. She threw the stuff in the back and drove off quickly, traffic beginning to pile up around the wreckage in the distance. She drove quickly down the road, however when she approached the old sight it was very crowded. She pulled off at the shoulder and turned off her car. "Now where are they?"


	6. Chapter 6

Nepeta woke up silently; Terezi was sitting next to her. "We can't leave, Gamzee! Karkat will just have to find us!" Nepeta opened her eyes and turned her head toward the ongoing discussion. "He can take care of himself, I'm sure. We need to just stay here and we won't be found!" "Hello?" Everyone's voice died down. "Is someone in there?" Nepeta watched as Kanaya turned her glow off, leaving them in pitch darkness. "Hey, I thought I heard voices in there, let's go in!" Nepeta opened her eyes wide, her eyesight slowly adjusting. "Hey! Who are you two?!" Nepeta heard a slightly familiar voice. "What's it to you woman?" "My name is Roxy Lalonde, I work for Alpha Lab. I need you two to stay away from the site of a recent meteor crash or I must alert the authorities." There was a hint of sass mixed with anger in her voice. "Hey miss, there is something in there, we're just going to go find out what it is." "I won't allow it. Now leave." "No. We want to find out what's in there." "Sir, both of you need to leave." She sounded louder this time. "Just wait miss, there were aliens in there! Tons of them! We need to investigate!" "I need to investigate, you two need to leave right now." "Look! AN ALIEN!" Nepeta stiffened. Did they see them? But she then heard the sounds of a fight. "Roxy!" Nepeta said quietly. Terezi shushed her. Then Nepeta heard a muffled scream. She frowned in vain. "Terezi, we have to-" Terezi shushed her again. Soon all sounds of struggle stopped and a thud echoed through the cave. "No..." Then one pair of footsteps began at the foot of the cave and slowly continued down. They were approaching the troll's hiding place. Nepeta's eyesight had adjusted and she waited to see what the man looked like as the steps neared them. "Hello? Terezi, Nepeta, are you in there?"

Roxy called out, her voice sounding a bit out of breath. "Roxy? Is that you?" Terezi's voice. "Yes, is everyone here?" Roxy took another step and a room in front of her suddenly lit up. "What in the-" She took another step and she was inside the room now, and the sight was very striking. It was a medium small cave room, just big enough for all the trolls to fit comfortably. In the center was a troll whose skin glowed brightly, lighting the room. Nepeta was on the far left, sitting next to her was Terezi. Then there were six others all sitting along the wall. On the right side there lay a troll, his eyes closed. "What happened Roxy?" "I gave those idiots what they had coming. Who are all of you?" Terezi stood up. "Well you met me and Nepeta already. Kanaya is in the center, she's a rainbow drinker and that is how she glows." What was a rainbow drinker? "This is Sollux, that's Feferi, Vriska's a bitch, that's Tavros, careful of Gamzee, and there's Aradia with a dead Equius." Roxy tried her hardest to remember a single name. "Ok, I'll try to remember." She suddenly remembered why she came here. "O yeah! I brought some food, I hope you guys can eat it, what do you eat?" Terezi took the bag from Roxy's outstretched arm. She searched through its contents. "This will be fine. Thank you." Roxy walked over to Nepeta, who was lying down on the floor. "Hey, I brought your hat Nepeta." She sat down next to her. "Are you all right? You look hurt!" "I am, but I'll recover." Roxy couldn't help but notice the olive colored liquid that was around her wounds. "Is that, blood?" "Yes, I'm an olive blood." "Do trolls have different colored blood?" "Yes. Do humans?" "No. We all have red blood." "Just like Kar-" She couldn't finish her sentence. "Well here, when you feel better you can have your pretty blue hat back." "Thank you." All this time Terezi had been going through the food bag, dividing it up. "Hey who are you? How do you know Nepeta and Terezi already?" Roxy turned around and saw a troll who was talking to her. "I'm Roxy Lalonde, I met with Terezi and Nepeta right after the crash." "How can we trust that you aren't trying to hurt us Roxy Lalonde?" Roxy looked at the glowing troll remembered as Kanaya. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have told you all to hide from the rest of the humans while distract one of my best friends, now would I?" "I wasn't aware of this conversation. Who did you tell?" "Terezi." Terezi turned her head toward Kanaya. "I was going to tell you. I would've explained it all later." Everyone stared at Terezi, a look of slight confusion and doubt on their faces.

Nepeta knew Terezi would've told them, but even she felt it odd that she hadn't mentioned it to them yet. Aradia spoke up first. "Well Roxy, would you tell us the story? Where are we? What's going on?" "Well you crash landed on a planet called Earth; it's full of people who all have red blood. I met up with one of your friends; I think his name was Eridan? And he's dead now. I'm from a lab that researches astrology, and we also have a subdivision of biology. We, coincidently, are the number one lab for extra-terrestrial life in the area. My friend was sent here to investigate, but I managed to convince her to take a detour and we are pretty much ok for today. However, tomorrow TONS of people will be here to investigate and chances are if those two dumbasses found you, many more will. I think you guys need to keep running, or else need to come forward as an alien species that comes in peace or some bullshit." Everyone stayed silent for a while until Vriska stood up suddenly. "Let me get this straight, either we run like cowards until doomsday or turn ourselves in to be experimented on?" Nepeta looked up at Roxy who suddenly looked down. "That seems like our two options right now. I'm honestly not sure what else I can do. I can tell them everything about how nice you all are and they won't care. All they want is to further science." Vriska frowned as Nepeta, now blinded with adrenaline, sat up. "Roxy, what are we going to do?" "Nepeta! Lay back down, you'll hurt yourself!" "Roxy what are we going to do?" Roxy looked at Nepeta. "I, I don't know. The best I can do is bring you all food and help keep you hidden."

Roxy bit back her tears. Spider bitch pirate troll was right; it was either run or turn them in. Terezi was carefully placing the items back in the bag. "Well thank you Roxy. I think this food will last us for a while. If we ever have to leave in case of an emergency we'll leave some message behind, otherwise we'll be right here." "Should I bring some medical supplies? It looks like a few of you are hurt." "Yes, if you could." "I'll need to buy some. Let me look at what we need." Roxy looked around the room. "Is he really-" "Yes, Equius is dead. Aradia please get rid of him, his stench is horrible." Aradia put her hand on his face. "I will." "Let's see here..." It looked like Kanaya was holding her head. Another troll had some mustard colored blood on his shoulder, and Nepeta was in rough shape. "I'll bring all I can. Expect to see me tomorrow around this time." Nepeta reached out and clasped Roxy's hand. "Promise me you'll be back." Roxy stared into Nepeta's hurt orange eyes. "I promise Nepeta." A fanged grin spread across her face. "Ok." Roxy smiled too. She let go of Nepeta's hand and stood up, brushing off the dirt of the cave. "Oh Roxy!" She turned her head toward Terezi. "We are missing one of our friends. His name is Karkat, and he's angry and bossy. Please tell us if you find him." "I will." She walked over to the corridor. "See you tomorrow; stay strong and I suggest you stay quieter than you were." And with that Roxy walked back out of the cave. It was almost a surprise to see the two knocked out men outside the mouth of the cave. "Those bastards." She grabbed their hands and began to drag them away. "This will do." She leaned them against a large tree and took out a bottle of spirits. She poured a small bit of it on their faces then placed the bottle next to them. "Now to cover up the cave."

Nepeta was still sitting up and smiling. "Please Nepeta, can you lie back down?" "I'm fine, really." Her adrenaline was beginning to wear off, but for some reason her spirits were still high enough to stop the pain. "I think we might be ok." "What are you talking about Nepeta? Didn't you hear what Roxy said?" "Oh yes! She said she would help us, and that she'd be back tomorrow." Terezi face-palmed. "Nepeta, you can't always trust an alien you met only a few hours ago!" Nepeta frowned slightly. "I trust Roxy." Terezi gave a small sigh. Just then Nepeta heard something moving outside of the cave. "Do you hear that Terezi?" Terezi stretched her neck a bit toward the cave entrance. "Yeah, what the hell is it?" "It sounds like something huuuuge!" Nepeta strained her ears. "I think someone is trying to cover up our entrance!" "HEY!" Terezi yelled loudly. "Hey!" A small echo came back, Roxy's voice. "What the hell are you doing?" "Blocking the view of your cave entrance for the night, trust me it'll help. Besides, it's small enough for you guys to move it out of the way just in case." It was hard to hear everything she yelled down the corridor, but Nepeta got the jist of it. Vriska cupped her hands around her mouth. "Don't you dare lie to us Lalonde." "Who are you to threaten me? I'll be back tomorrow." With that Nepeta heard the sounds stop and Roxy was assumed to have left. "Vriska, I was under the impression that we wanted to keep the peace with our only hope on this foreign planet." "That human is NOT our only hope. We could make it on our own." "Then why don't you just go get your own food? We can split the things Roxy brought us with the rest of us." Vriska rolled her eyes. "Shut up Terezi." Terezi grinned devilishly at Vriska. "Everyone, I believe we should eat and get some rest. We need to stay alive and we are all very weak." "Kanaya is right. I'll go... go bury Equius and then we can all chow down." Aradia got up and picked Equius's limp body in her arms. "Can I come too?" Aradia looked at Nepeta. "Of course. But we have to hurry ok?" Nepeta nodded and stood up. "Nepeta, I know you miss your morail but you're hurt! You have to stay!" Nepeta put her hat on her head. "It's ok, Terezi. I'll be brave."


	7. Chapter 7

Roxy got home late, having to shop for all the medical supplies took time. She opened the door and Jaspers meowed an annoyed greeting at her. "Hi Jaspers! I missed you!" She pat him on the head and set down her things. "I saw the trolls again Jaspers! Spider bitch pirate troll is annoying as heeeell!" Jaspers purred against her. "And there was Nepeta again; I remembered to give her her hat back." Roxy walked over to her cupboard and opened it. Seeing all the drinks made her mouth water. "Hm... which one..." She gripped the cupboard handles tighter. "I can't…" Roxy loosened her grip on the handles and slammed the cupboard closed. She gave a long sigh, and sat down on the floor. Jaspers came to sit next to her. "Thanks Jaspers." She pat him on the head once more. "At least Dirk will be happy with me." Jaspers put his paw on Roxy's stomach. "Haha I guess my liver will too huh Jaspers?" She smiled and gave the black cat a hug. "What do you want for dinner?" She stood up and set Jaspers on the counter. After a short period of sniffing Jaspers began clawing at one particular cabinet. Roxy opened it. Jaspers looked in and poked a can of tuna. "You're so clever Jaspers."

Aradia and, with minimal help from Nepeta, managed to dig a large enough hole for Equius. Aradia set him inside it and together they buried the blue-blooded troll. Nepeta was crying heavily, even though she promised to be brave. As Aradia finished burying him, Nepeta picked a beautiful flower close to the cave and set it on the top of the earth. After everything was done, they stood next to each other and stared at the spot in the ground. There was a moment of silence as the two trolls silently mourned. "Here lies Equius, a strong and noble troll." "He died saving me, something he shouldn't have done." Aradia hugged her. "That isn't true. No one knew what was going to happen. Imagine if he didn't protect you, he may have been alive but he would have been a coward." Nepeta cried harder. "I just don't know what else to do now Aradia, I have no one to talk to, no one to protect us, no one to-" Nepeta's voice cut off. "You have an entire cave of trolls that will look after you. Besides, we do need to be getting back inside to them; I can see some humans getting dangerously close. Nepeta stared off into the distance, and she too noticed them. "Rest in peace Equius Zahhak." Aradia took Nepeta's hand and led her back inside. She turned around and shoved the entrance closed once more. They walked back down the long corridor, seeing the sight of her friends in the distance was a welcomed sight. "Everyone gets a sandwich then we sleep." Terezi handed Nepeta a sandwich, but she refused, saying she only wanted to sleep. Nepeta curled up on the ground and hugged herself. Equius was really gone. Nepeta let another few tears stream down her cheek, as she shut her eyes closed. Nepeta felt someone sit next to her. "I'll be here for you Nepeta." Nepeta recognized Terezi's voice, and Terezi put her arm on Nepeta's shoulder. Nepeta gave a small comforted sigh, and drifted off to sleep.

Roxy awoke with a start. She sat up straight and was breathing quickly. Her hands were gripping her blanket with tight fists and her eyes flew open. Jaspers woke up too, and meowed at Roxy. Roxy looked down at him and relaxed a bit. "Hi Jaspers, I just had a shitty nightmare, you can go back to sleep." Roxy let her hands relax and tried to breathe slower, adrenaline still present. It had been a truly horrible nightmare, one of the worst she's ever had. Roxy checked the time, 4:00 am. "Ugh. I guess I'll just try to go back to sleep." She lay back down, her breathing still on manual. The images kept running through her head. All the trolls lying dead on the floor. Blood of all colors splattered on the walls. Those horrible people had gotten them. Roxy let a tear stream down her cheek. It's ok. They're ok. That didn't happen. She repeated these things, but the pictures didn't leave. The hint of death still with her. Roxy slowly drifted off to sleep, only to have the cursed nightmare come back.

Nepeta woke up silently. At first she had no idea where she was, her familiar recuperacoon far away. Her hands felt the cold cave floor and beside her sat Terezi, still asleep but leaning against the cave wall. Nepeta stretched a bit, being careful not to re-open her wounds again. She opened her eyes wider, letting them adjust to the darkness. No one else seemed to be awake. However, as she continued to gaze across the room she spied movement in the center. Kanaya turned her head toward Nepeta. "Hi Nepeta. Did you sleep well?" Kanaya spoke softly, her voice gently echoing around the room. "I did, how about you?" "My head is much better, however I think I don't quite remember everything that happened yesterday." Nepeta cleared her throat as quietly as she could. "Well, the most important things are that Karkat is still missing, Eridan and Equius are dead, Roxy is helping us, and we have to stay hidden." "Are you sure that is all that is important?" "Yes. I hope we find Karkitty today." "I as well, I miss his bickering and yelling somewhat." Nepeta gave a small giggle. "I do too. But I think he can find his way here right?" Suddenly Terezi started to stir next to Nepeta. "Of course he can! Besides, what does he need us for? He can take care of himself!" Terezi was not whispering, or even attempting it. Nepeta poked her shoulder lightly, then shushed her. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." "You better be sorry Pyrope. I was tired as hell!" Vriska had been woken up. Kanaya shushed her. "Vriska?" Tavros woke up wearily, his voice quiet. "What is it Tavros?" "Good morning!" Nepeta saw Vriska roll her eyes. "You don't know what time it is." "Well good uh... good day?" "Sure." Vriska smiled at Tavros, who smiled back at her. Soon everyone woke up and were whispering to each other. "Do you think they'll find us?" Nepeta looked at Terezi. "No, I think we're being quiet enough. As long as no one does anything to attract attention, we should be fine." Nepeta smiled. "Thanks Terezi. When do you think Roxy will be back?"


End file.
